Review and Measurements of Schiit Modi 3 DAC

[VintageFlanker]

I heard so many bad stories about MB internal audio processing so I thought I might just try external.. My amp doesn’t have balanced inputs, so Im limited to RCA only..

Do you use particular headphones?

 

[England66]

First, does your Onkyo has XLR input? If not, I see no reason to buy a SU8V2.
For less, and a bit more than the Modi 3, I would go for the DX3 Pro. More digital inputs (including Bluetooth Aptx-HD) and a decent headphone amp.
If you are limited to 100$ and don't need and headphone amp, then the Modi 3 is a good option.

A headphone DAC means a DAC with integrated headphone amp.

Thank you very much!
As I dont use headphones, I probably will stick with Shiit modi 3!
In test Amir mentioned about the Usb problem , and a potential solution by using Wasapi...I dunno the guy is this a driver? Can I select it in AudioNirvana? Will the Modi be a friend with MQAs from tidal?
Cheers)

 

[England66]

I

Do you use particular headphones?

I dont use headphones, only amp to speakers

 

[andreasmaaan]

I heard so many bad stories about MB internal audio processing so I thought I might just try external.. My amp doesn’t have balanced inputs, so Im limited to RCA only..

Interested to know what you've heard? There's certainly nothing wrong with the audio output from most macbooks.

 

[VintageFlanker]

I

I dont use headphones, only amp to speakers

OK. Then, the DX3 Pro is pointless. Modi 3 is a great option.

 

[Veri]

Thank you very much!
As I dont use headphones, I probably will stick with Shiit modi 3!
In test Amir mentioned about the Usb problem , and a potential solution by using Wasapi...I dunno the guy is this a driver? Can I select it in AudioNirvana? Will the Modi be a friend with MQAs from tidal?
Cheers)

The modi does not support hardware decoding of MQA. It can only do software decoded/'unfolded' MQA (i.e. through Roon). This is information you easily find by doing a little more research..

 

[VintageFlanker]

Thank you very much!
As I dont use headphones, I probably will stick with Shiit modi 3!
In test Amir mentioned about the Usb problem , and a potential solution by using Wasapi...I dunno the guy is this a driver? Can I select it in AudioNirvana? Will the Modi be a friend with MQAs from tidal?
Cheers)

You can stream "unative" MQA from both Roon and Audirvana. It will be concerted to regular FLAC 24b.
It won't bother about "unatively" decoded MQA.

 

[pwjazz]

Interested to know what you've heard? There's certainly nothing wrong with the audio output from most macbooks.

They might not have enough juice for driving inefficient high impedance headphones, but I can't imagine what's wrong with them as a line out to an AV receiver.

 

[VintageFlanker]

They might not have enough juice for driving inefficient high impedance headphones, but I can't imagine what's wrong with them as a line out to an AV receiver.

Sure but I doubt these can provide the same amount of performance as a good external DAC.

 

[pwjazz]

Hi, I’m very new here and firstly want to say you thank you for such an amazing tech forum.

I do have a question though:
I run Onkyo amp(no dac) with QAcoustics speakers, and normally I stream music from my MBpro 2017 via 3.5mm output.. (Tidal)

Would it be ok to use Shiit modi 3 as Dac in my system or should I look at other dacs ? I also read your reviews about Smsl su8v2 .. can I use USB with bith of them? Also I was a bit confused with “headphone dac” definition..
Please help me to choose
Thank you

You might want to consider a Chromecast Audio. It won't sound any better or worse than your laptop's 3.5mm but it has the advantage that your laptop doesn't have to be physically connected to your laptop. It does require Wi-Fi and sadly an active Internet connection, but it's cheap, convenient and decent quality. With apps that support it (like Spotify) you don't even need to keep your computer or phone on to keep streaming, as the Chromecast talks directly with the streaming service. Lastly, if you ever start to think you need even higher performance you can run its optical out to a DAC like the Modi.

EDIT - IIRC the Tidal app also supports Chromecast natively.

 

[pwjazz]

Sure but I doubt these can provide the same amount of performance as a good external DAC.

I would suspect that the amplifier's and speakers' distortion, plus the room, make a much larger difference than the DAC.

 

[England66]

I would suspect that the amplifier's and speakers' distortion, plus the room, make a much larger difference than the DAC.

oh yes DDD I runOnkyo 9010 with QAcoustics 3050i and I hope my room is not too bad for them

 

[Shangri-La]

I'm setting up a desktop stereo for my computer/casual listening and looking for a DAC, which will work with ELAC Debut B 6.2 and Akitika GT-102. I was almost settled on the Musical Fidelity V90, which was Stereophile Class A DAC, and then discovered the Modi 3.

The V90 is a 5-year old product and DAC is probably the component that has improved the most in the entire stereo system. The V-90 may be a bit overkill. I wonder if the Modi 3 will suffice... Or, what other DAC may be a good fit for the system in terms of cost and performance. (I'm trying to keep the DAC under $300). The ELAC may be the weakest link in the system..

 

[amirm]

The V90 is a good dac (see: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurements-of-musical-fidelity-v90-dac.3787/) but is hard to justify its higher cost. So yes, you can get the Modi 3 and get similar performance.

 

[Shangri-La]

The V90 is a good dac (see: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurements-of-musical-fidelity-v90-dac.3787/) but is hard to justify its higher cost. So yes, you can get the Modi 3 and get similar performance.

Thank you! I may try this: get the Modi 3 and audition in my main system, which is Halo Parasound Integrated + GoldenEar Triton Reference. If it sounds fine in the main setup then should be more than enough for the new setup.

BTW do you think the Modi 3 (or DACs in general) may benefit from a linear power supply? Of course I'm not going to buy a power supply for the Schiit but may use 18650 instead, though 5V is a bit tricky...thanks.

PS - what other DAC options do I have in sub-300 range? That D50 looks like one.

 

[amirm]

BTW do you think the Modi 3 (or DACs in general) may benefit from a linear power supply?

No. Not with any of them that I test and give high marks without one.

As to other options, you can go cheaper with Topping D10 at $70 and get a much nicer looking DAC with display, bridge to S/PDIF, etc.

The D50 is nice but you are paying for the display and remote. If these are valuable to you then, it is a better option.

SMSL SU-8 version 2 is also nice at around $250 with balanced output.

 

[Shangri-La]

No. Not with any of them that I test and give high marks without one.

As to other options, you can go cheaper with Topping D10 at $70 and get a much nicer looking DAC with display, bridge to S/PDIF, etc.

The D50 is nice but you are paying for the display and remote. If these are valuable to you then, it is a better option.

SMSL SU-8 version 2 is also nice at around $250 with balanced output.

Thank you - really appreciate your reviews and posts. Will do my research on these options.

Got the ELAC for a killing deal at $150 and will build the GT-120 (probably overkill but it looks too tempting). I was aiming for a DAC under 200 but didnt find anything.

I was actually also considering the PS Sprout 100 integrated, but think the Akitika + a good but not overpriced DAC will outperform.

 

[Shangri-La]

So after the ASIO4ALL issue is resolved, I assume the USB measurements are very close to SPDIF? I'm asking becuase I think some of the USB measurements in the original post are not updated with the ASIO4ALL issue resolved. Thanks.

After carefully reading your review/measurements of the Modi3/V-90/SMSL SU-8 V2/D50/Pro-Ject Pre Box S2, I think the Modi 3 has overall the best performance? I was almost set on the D50 but the ESS hump bothers me. V-90 is very good too but a bit expemsive.

 

[amirm]

So after the ASIO4ALL issue is resolved, I assume the USB measurements are very close to SPDIF?

Correct. Without ASIO4ALL support I can't repeat all of my measurements but I think USB is fine.

 

[Shangri-La]

Correct. Without ASIO4ALL support I can't repeat all of my measurements but I think USB is fine.

Thank you! This is it then.